Method of and apparatus for sealing the ends of fastening strings, wires, and the like



May 13, 1930. w. KoHLl-:R

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ASEALING THE ENDS Filed March 15, 1928 n f nl OF FASTENING STRINGS, WIRES AND THE LIKE l NJW-rn R flhelm, hler EN Patented May 13, 1930 aas rATENT oFFIcE WILHELM KOHLER, OF ELBERFELD, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 BRUNINGHA'US @c CO., 0F BARNEN-WICHLINGI-IAUSEN, GERMANY METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING THE :ENDS 0F FASTENING STRINGS, WIRES, AND THE LIKE Application led March 15, 1928, Serial No. 261,791, and in Germany March 21, 1927.

The invention relates to a method of and an implement for sealing the ends of a fastening means, such as a string, wire or a similar means. It is well known to seal the ends of such fastening means by means of a one-part rectangular sea-l of sheet metal, two parallel edges of the sheet metal plate being beaded around the strings or the like.

This manner of sealing however does not afford an absolute security against illegal opening, as it does not offer any difficulty to unbending the beaded edges, untying the fastening means, and re-beading the edges of the seal around the strings. Besides, this known manner of sealing suffers from the notable drawback that the two sharp edges of the seal which are not beaded very easily cause the person handling the sealed object to hurt his hands, or neighboring objects to be injured. This danger is further increased when the seal is broken for any reason, whereby sharp edges and points are formed.

Now the object of my invention is to obviate all these disadvantages and drawbacks, which object is attained by beading on the entire circumference, except the recesses for the ends of the fastening means to be secured, the edge of a shallow bowl-shaped seal blank.

To execute my new method of sea-ling I make use of an implement, the lower swage of which has a guide in which a springactuated die is slidably arranged which normally projects beyond the operating edge of the guide, while gripping jaws are pivoted on pins that limit the motion of the die; these jaws may move relatively to each other by means of downwardly converging slots and pins engaging the latter and fixed in a stationary part of the swage.

In order to allowmy invention to be more easily understood, a preferred embodiment of an implement serving to execute my new sealing method is illustrated by way of example in the drawing which accompanies and forms part of this specification. In this drawing:

Figure 1l is a section on line I-I of Figure 3,

Figure 2 is a section on line II-II of Figure 3,

Figure 3 is a top View of the lower swage,

Figure 4 is a view of the finished seal, while Figure 5 is a section on line V--V of Figure 4.

The sealing implement illustrated consists of an upper and a lower swage. The latter comprises a plate 1 to be fixed on a table or bench, and a guide 2 arranged below it and having an extension 3 which is flattened on two sides and projects upward into a hole of plate 1. The latter has further an upper circular recess of a larger diameter in which recess a fitting piece 4 is embedded and is secured therein against rotation by a set screw 4', see Figures 2 and 3. A die 5 is adapted to move up and down in the fitting piece 4 and guide 2, the stem of which die has a horizontal through-going slot 6, see Figure 1. A coiled spring 7 is arranged in the bore that receives the die 5. of the guide 2, while another coiled spring 8 surrounds the guide. This latter spring abuts on the one hand on the lower face of the plate 1 and on the other hand on a washer 9 abutting on the head of a screw bolt 10. The latter is screwed from below into the lower, threaded end of the guide 2 and serves to adjust the tension of the spring 7 acting upon the die 5. Bolts 11 pass through the slot 6 of the stem of the die 5, on the ends of which bolts are rockingly mounted gripping jaws 12. These jaws abut on fixed guide jaws 13, which surround and are spaced from the die 5; the faces 14 of the jaws 13 are rounded off and face each other as shown in Figure 3. The jaws 12 are provided with downwardly converging slots 15 engaged by pins 16. The latter are fixed in the fitting piece 4, see in particular Figures 1 and 3.

The upper swage comprises a piston 17 on the lower front face of which is fixed the upper die 19 having an annular groove 20. The die 19 is mounted above the plate 1 in any suitable manner (not shown).

The seal blank 21 is made of a suitable metal and has the shape of a shallow bowl. Two recesses 23 are provided diametrically opposite to one another in the fiange 22 of the blank 21. Of course, one single recess might be provided only.

To execute the sealing method according to my invention, a pressure is exerted from below upon the screw bolt 10 by operating a pedal lever or the like, by which pressure the die 5 is raised together with the jaws 12. Owing to their being guided by the inclined pin and slot engagement 15, 16, the jaws 12 of each pair separate fromone another during this motion, so that now the ends 24 of the fastening means, e. g. of a string, may be laid around the die between the stationary jaws 13, these ends arriving between the jaws 12. A seal blank 21 is then put on the die 5 in such a. manner, that its iiange 22 surrounds the head of die 5 and that the recess or recesses 23 are in registry with corresponding recesses 25, 26 in the members 4 and 1, respectively. Now, when the upper die 19 is lowered, first the ends 24 to be sealed, of the string are caught by the jaws 12 and held in position, while at the saine time the die 5 is lowered together with the seal blank 21 into the jaws 13. Finally the flange 22 of the blank 21 hits the suitably conligurated edges of the jaws 13 and is beaded around by them, the ends 24 of the string being rolled into the bead thus formed. It will be understood that the slot 6 permits the lower die to be lowered for a short distance against the action of spring 7 without movement of the jaws 12; that is, the latter lag behind when the die 5 moves downwardly. According to whether the blank 21 has in its flange 22 two diametrical recesses 23er one single one, the free ends 24 of the string project beyond the finished seal or are covered by it.

To facilitate the positioning of the ends 24 to be sealed, recesses 25 and 26 are provided in the surface of the fitting piece 4 and of plate 1respectively, opposite the jaws 12.

Instead of a circular blank, any other blank of suitable shape, e. g. a square or polygonal one, may of course be used, in which case it would only be required to correspondingly shape the parts of the implement that co-operate therewith.

What I claim, is

1. A method of sealing the ends of strings, wires and other fastening means by a onepart sheet metal seal, consisting in so beading about such ends the sealing edge Iof a seal blank having the shape of a shallow bowl that the fastening means lies in substantially the plane of the body of the blank.

2. An implement for sealing strings, wires and the like, comprising an Lipper swage having a beading die, a lower swage comprising a longitudinally movable die adapted to cooperate with said upper die and to engage a flanged seal blank, jaws adapted to grip the strings to be'sealed and to move toget-her with said lower die into operative position, but to lag behindit when moving in. opposite direction, means for opening said jaws when moving into operative position and for closing them when moving in opposite direction, stationary jaws mounted on said lower swage and adapted to co-operate with said lower and upper die in beading said seal blank around said string, and means for suitably limiting the motion of said lower die.

3. An implement for sealing strings, wires and the like, comprising an upper swage having a beading die, a lower swage comprising a longitudinally movable die adapted to cooperate with said upper die and to engage a flanged seal blank, horizontal recesses in said lower die, two bolts passing through said recesses and having play therein in the direction of motion of said die, a pair of co-operating jaws rockingly mounted on each of said bolts and adapted to grip the strings to be sealed, an inclined pin and slot connection between each of said jaws and a stationary part of said lower swage, said slots diverging toward said upper die, a spring interposed between sad lower die and swage and adapted to urge said die in the direction onto said upper die, and stationary jaws mounted on said lower swage and adapted to co-operate with said lower and upper die in beading said seal blank around said string.

4. A method of sealing the ends of strings, wires and similar fastening means, which comprises threading said fastening means through the peripheralv flange of a shallow bowl-shaped blank, and directing said fastening means along the inner periphery of said flange while so beading the flange about said fastening means that the latter lies in substantially the plane of the body of the blank.

In testimony whereof I have aiiiXed my signature.

WILHELM KOHLER. 

